All My Children Commentary

Current Two Scoops column

AMC star talks about being booted from flight:
All My Children's Jennifer Bassey (ex-Marian Colby) tells her side of the incident that got her kicked off a Delta flight last week. Read the column now...

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Jonathan is slipping away from Ryan's voice, but manages to say "Greenlee" when he asks him where the bomb is. When Ryan tries to question Jonathan some more, the nurses rush in and try to take Jonathan away for surgery, but Aidan and Ryan refuse. Ryan tells the nurses that Jonathan says there is a bomb somewhere. Joe rushes to the hospital after he is paged at Edmund's funeral. Ryan explains to him about the bomb and Joe uses a cloth soaked in a strong odor to arise Jonathan. When asked about the bomb, Jonathan says, "Greenlee, Kendall, Maria, all of them." When Jonathan awakes later, he hears someone say, "It's me, Braden."

Tad continues speaking at Edmund's funeral, saying that Edmund was always one to never hold a grudge and work things out later. He was seen as storyteller, a first-class journalist, and if he were alive, he would love to write this story, Tad says. The camera shows the bomb on the bottom of Edmund's coffin, with ten minutes remaining until it blows. Brooke is the next one to speak about Edmund, as JR gets up and leaves to answer a phone call. When he picks up the phone, Di is on the other end. She tells him that she is calling on behalf of Krystal and that Krystal needs to see her immediately. JR rushes off as Brooke finishes her eulogy, saying that Edmund saved her life and helped her make good choices. The preacher gets up, ready to conclude the funeral, until Sam speaks up. Sam says that his father was the greatest person ever. He was a man who showed them love every day and when he lost the use of his legs, he was the one who showed them how to brave and deal with it, Sam says. He angrily looks at Maria and tells everyone that while Edmund was loving all of them, she was out sleeping with her ex-lover. Anita gets up and tries to calm him down, but Sam continues to rant until he is escorted by her. Maddie gets up and stares coldly at her mother then follows Sam. Maria apologizes to the crowd for Sam's behavior, walks up to Edmund's casket sobbing and apologizing, until Tad drags her away. As the funeral closes, Ryan rushes in and tells everyone to get out of the building. Aidan pulls Derek aside and tells him about the bomb. Greenlee tries to stay with Ryan, but Jack ushers her out. Ryan insists on getting Edmund's casket out of the building, although the bomb squad orders him to get out. Maria gets angry at Ryan for interrupting the service, but rushes out when he tells her about the bomb. Ryan, Ethan, Tad and Aidan prepare to life up the casket, but take a peek underneath and see the bomb, with only two minutes left.

Back at Wildwind, everyone is frantically worried about what is going on inside until Maria blurts out about the bomb. Ethan comes in and tells everyone that the bomb is being diffused. Maria thanks everyone for coming and people slowly start to leave. Ethan tells Maria that Zach probably hired someone to plant the bomb, but Myrtle refuses to believe it. Maria says that after hearing him talk about killing Edmund, she thinks Zach did it. Ryan comes in next, immediately embraced by Greenlee, and when Maria blames Zach, Ryan says the bomber was Braden. He informs Greenlee that he knew about the bomb because Jonathan told him after he was treated for stab wounds from Braden. When Greenlee sees the metal bullet mark in his bulletproof vest, she realizes Ryan was a target too. Jackson gets upset and tells Ryan to stay away from Greenlee until Braden is caught. Greenlee tells Ryan to ignore him, but Ryan agrees, and says she is safer by not being near him until Braden is caught. When Ryan leaves, a cop hands him a letter from Braden, inviting him to give the murder game another shot.

Krystal continues to get harassed by the inmates and before JR walks in, one inmate places something in her shirt. JR asks Krystal about the urgent call, but she says that she did not ask anyone to call him. JR says that he won't allow her to play him and plans on destroying Babe and David. He taunts her citing that if he has it his way, Babe won't even be celebrating her son's first birthday on her scheduled visitation day. Krystal tries to attack him, but is held back by guards, until a knife falls from the back of her shirt. JR accuses Krystal of luring him there to kill him. The guards prepare to take Krystal to solitary confinement after JR leaves, but Di steps up and say that the knife was planted. Di claims she did not know who did it, but saw it happen, and knows Krystal did nothing wrong. The guards release her and Krystal goes to thank Di, but Di says nothing back.

Adam breaks into Aidan's apartment, in search of clues to find Liza and Colby. When he hacks into Aidan's computer, a message saying "Your wasting your time Adam" pops up. David comes in immediately afterwards, explaining that he had the same idea as Adam, except his agenda was to protect Babe from JR. David says that he can help Adam find Liza and Colby by pumping Jamie and Babe because they were the last ones to see them. When Adam asks what's in it for David, David says that Adam has to get JR to back off Babe. Adam and David agree to the deal, neither one trusting the other.

Zach says that he is surprised to hear that Erica is on his side. She says just the opposite. She tells him that she knows he did not kill Edmund and won't let his lies or Ethan's lies destroy Kendall's life. She tells him that Lily saw his picture and an article in the newspaper. When she saw it, she kept saying, "I saw it wrong. He didn't do it," Erica explains, citing that Zach's reasons for protecting Lily make even more sense to her. Erica thinks that he did it for Ethan so he could get his revenge on him. Erica begs Zach to tell the truth for he and Ethan's sake and stop the Cambias curse. Zach says that when he told Maria he did not kill Edmund, she took Ethan's word and they both want him to be the killer. Erica says that if Zach won't tell the truth, she will, then rushes off to Wildwind. When Maria sees her, she looks as though she will faint, but Erica rushes over to Jackson and tells him that Zach lied about killing Edmund.

Babe and Jamie were busy painting a little red wagon for little Adam's first birthday present when a messenger showed up with a letter from J.R.'s attorneys stating that babe's visitation had been postponed and she would not be able to see the baby on his birthday. J.R. informed Adam that his attorney found some ambiguous wording in the custody settlement and that Babe won't be allowed to attend little Adam's birthday party. Babe said she wanted to take some turpentine and put it down J.R's tidy whities and toss in a lit match. Adam tried to reason with J.R. to let Babe see her son on his birthday. David then called Adam and furiously reminded him that they had a deal. David told him that if Babe doesn't see her son on his birthday, he will never help find Liza and Colby. He also threatened Adam to tell J.R. about the deal they struck. Adam told J.R. to reset his focus from punishing Babe to concentrating on getting Chandler Enterprises back. David subtly tried to pry information out of Babe and Jamie for the whereabouts of Liza and Colby. Adam advised J.R. to choose his battles and that this one is not worth fighting. He told him to savor his victory but to let Babe see her baby. J.R. agreed to let Babe have her visitation. When David told Babe that she would get to see little Adam on his birthday, she was ecstatic.

Erica went to Wildwind and immediately told Maria and everyone in the room that Zach did not kill Edmund. She then appealed to Ethan that it was time to admit that he lied and that he did not see his father kill Edmund. Kendall immediately defended Ethan and told him that he didn't have to say anything because she and everyone else knows he is telling the truth. Erica told Kendall not to be so naive and asked Ethan if he even knew why he was lying about Zach. Erica shared with Maria and the others that she had just left the prison and Zach confirmed what she had suspected, that he was innocent. Maria, visibly upset, told Erica she the only reason that Zach would all of a sudden change his confession and plead innocent is to mess with Maria's head. She then asked Erica how stupid can she be. Erica retorted, "Not nearly as stupid as you." Erica continued to insist that she was not one of Zach's pawns. Jack, seeing how upset Maria was took Erica outside to the foyer. He accused Erica of being on Zach's side. She said that she would never believe Zach's word alone, but confirmed that Lily did indeed see the murder and not only was Zach not the killer, but that Lily was in grave danger. Jack responded to Erica by telling her that he will make his own decision on Zach's innocence or guilt after he talks to Lily. Aidan promised Jack that there would be no more screwups and Lily would be kept safe. Jack then realized that Greenlee was no longer at Wildwind. Kendall confronted Erica and asked her how she could do such a thing and accused her of trying to break up Ethan and her. Erica again tried to make Kendall see that Ethan was lying to her and reminded Kendall that she should know exactly where Ethan was coming from because, "You did exactly the same thing to me." Erica continued to tell her to wake up and see the reality of the situation. Kendall angrily told Erica that since Zach can't do his dirty work from jail, he had manipulated her into doing it for him. Erica explained that she didn't care if Zach and Ethan tore each other apart, but she didn't want them to destroy Kendall as well. Meanwhile, Ethan again regaled Maria with how Zach spins his web and traps whoever he can to do his bidding. Ethan makes Maria believe that Zach is manipulating Erica for his own evil purposes. Ethan swears to Maria that he will put Zach away for good, and when Erica returned to the other room, Maria threatened to call the police. Erica agreed to go but not before she told Maria that not believing her would be the biggest mistake of her life. Kendall apologized to Maria for Erica's actions and suggested that she and Ethan leave to give Maria some alone time.

After Erica's announcement at Wildwind, Myrtle slipped off to visit Zach in prison. He asked her why she wasn't at Edmund's funeral and she asked him why he was still in jail. She told him to save his breath because Erica had crashed the funeral and told everyone that he did not kill Edmund. Myrtle told Zach that she didn't give a damn why he hadn't shouted his innocence to the world because whatever his reasons, they were all wrong. While you have been in jail the real killer is still on the loose. Zach said that although he did not see who killed Edmund because he was unconscious, he has an idea who did and the police should already have the real killer in their sights.

Ryan went to the hospital and Jonathan told him that Braden had been there and just left. Ryan went to look for Braden but did not find him. He reassured Jonathan that the bomb did not go off and no one was hurt. Jonathon told Ryan that Braden said he didn't care how many died, he was going to make sure that Greenlee and the other sanctimonious people of Pine Valley would be blown up. Ryan promised Jonathan that he would protect him and as he turned to leave, Greenlee was in the hospital doorway. She said that she had two first class tickets to Italy and they should go. He told her that he couldn't go to Europe and showed her the letter from Braden and she became very afraid that he was going to die. Ryan explained to Greenlee that he can't live with the threat of Braden on them forever. Greenlee, let Ryan know that if he made her a widow again she would hate him forever. She stormed off and he caught her at the elevator. Greenlee kissed him as though it would be the last time she would get the chance. Jack then came to the hospital and Ryan sent them away with a promise that he will be fine. When Ryan returned to Jonathan's hospital room a delivery from Braden arrived. A black suit with a note that read, "First Clue: As it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end. The game begins. Braden."

Tad is on the phone, trying to get information on Braden. Simone walks in and tells him that she needs him. He thinks she means his body. She laughs at this and tells him that the truth set her free and she isn't there to seduce him, but to get his help as a private eye. He informs her that J.R. revoked his license and he cannot help her professionally, but he can give her advice as a friend. She tells him that she needs help getting the truth about Jonathan. He informs her about Jonathan being innocent and that Braden is responsible. She didn't even know about Braden and is confused. He explains what has been going on and that Ryan is out there trying to lure Braden out of hiding. She tells Tad that they need to stop him and keep him safe because Greenlee would be devastated to lose another love of her life. He asks why she is so concerned and replies that Greenlee is her only friend. She is upset that nobody filled her in on what was going on and feels that people don't take her seriously. She goes on to say that she is a good friend and she thinks she can get the truth out of Jonathan. Tad warns her to stay away from him and then is interrupted by a phone call that he has been waiting for. He makes his apologies as he heads out the door to meet with the caller.

Kendall and Ethan are at home on a video conference call with Bianca and Miranda. They wish Miranda a happy birthday before saying goodbye. Afterwards, Kendall thanks Ethan for making the conference call happen and knowing exactly what she needed. He tells her that he only wants to make her happy. She smiles and tells him how kind, caring and wonderful he is and she doesn't know why her mother can't see that. He tells her not to blame Erica because Zach has duped her into believing that he is innocent. She tells him that her mother isn't stupid. She goes on to say that Erica has had it out for him from the beginning and she is a co-conspirator in making him look like a liar. Ethan jokes that they are the children of horrific parents and Kendall says that she doesn't mind that they have that in common because they don't have to explain themselves to each other. As they leave, he tells her that no one can come between them as long as they're together.

Babe arrives at the Chandler Mansion preparing to have her appointed visitation with him on his birthday. As she knocks on the door, she remembers Paul Cramer telling her that her son died in the helicopter crash on this day...one year ago. Winifred opens the door in a panic and tells her that J.R. has just rushed her son the hospital. Babe rushes away, leaving her gifts on the doorstep. J.R. and Palmer rush into the Emergency Room yelling that something is wrong with Little Adam. They are escorted away. Babe arrives sometime later and tries to get information about her son. David is mopping the floor nearby and runs to her, asking what is wrong. She tells him what is going on and they both try to get the E.R. doctor to help them. He tells them that he can't discuss his patient's condition. They tell him that they are family and David reminds him that he saved his behind last year when he misdiagnosed a patient. He still doesn't cooperate. David gets angry and starts to yell at him. They are all approached by a security guard and the doctor asks him to escort David and Babe out of the E.R. Later, they come back disguised in scrubs and face masks pushing a biohazard cart around. They notice Adam come through and they follow him. They see him enter a room and David tells her that it's the hospital's Board Room. They listen at the door and hear a group of people start to sing. They bust in and interrupt a birthday party for Little Adam. Kendall, Ethan, J.R., Palmer and Adam are there. Babe and David are furious and accuse J.R. of feigning an illness so that they could keep Babe from her visitation with Little Adam. J.R. tells them that the baby was sick with a slight fever and that the party was impromptu. Babe makes a comment about the balloons and cake, but Kendall and Ethan say that they brought them. Babe threatens to call the Judge because he is interfering with her visitation. He tells her that the visitations are only allowed if the baby is in good health. David reads a chart and says that nothing is wrong with the baby. Just as Palmer calls security, Joe walks in and orders him to hang up. He says that he will not condone them using his hospital and it's staff to play keep the baby away from Babe. He threatens to go to the Court and tell them what they just pulled, if they don't let Babe have her three hours with her son...starting right then. J.R. reluctantly gives in, but warns her not to take off with the baby. She reminds him that the social worker is on her way to supervise, but he tells her that he'll wait outside...just in case. Just as Adam is leaving, David tears into him for breaking their deal. He assures David that he had no idea that this was going down until it was too late. David warns him not to let this happen again.

Maria blocks the door as Sam tries to leave with a packed suitcase. She tells him that he can't walk out. He says why not because she did the same thing to them. He goes on to say that now that the funeral is over, there is nothing keeping him there. At that moment, Maddie comes down the stairs with her suitcase and tells her that she is leaving with Sam. Maria tells them both that they are not going anywhere. Sam replies that they might listen to her if they had any respect for her. Maria reminds them that they are too young to leave on their own, they have no money and she will call the airport to make sure that they can't get a plane. At that moment Myrtle and Anita walk in. Myrtle orders them to go into the living room and sit down. Myrtle tells Maria that she didn't mean to interrupt, but she has something important to tell her. Maria asks her if could speak to her children first and Myrtles agrees and sits down. Maria tells them that she knows they are angry with her and she takes full responsibility for what happened. She tells them that she is human and makes mistakes. She goes on to say that Edmund did the most incredible thing before he died and that was forgiving her and he is totally blameless for all of this and she wants them to have nothing but good memories. She tells them that they are not going anywhere because she is still their mom and won't let them go. They are going to get through this as a family because it is going to be hard and they need each other. Sam asks her how she is sure that Edmund wouldn't want them to get far away from there and she replies that they still loved each other...in spite of everything. She tells them to take their suitcases back upstairs and they agree. After they leave, Myrtle tries to tell Maria something, but Maria excuses herself to leave for an appointment with Jackson and promises to talk her later.

Erica, Jackson and Greenlee are in Jackson's apartment preparing to eat breakfast. As they sit down, Jackson tells Erica that no matter how she interpreted Lily's reaction to the magazine article, there still leaves the strong testimony of Ethan's account of what happened that night. Erica tells him that Ethan can't be trusted. She expresses her worry that Kendall is involved with him, but vows to do something about it. Greenlee tells her that she would have to do it over her dead body. Erica replies that it would be a short and enjoyable trump to do so. Greenlee tells them that all of the meddling in the beginning of her marriage only wasted valuable time with her husband. Erica says that she knows Greenlee is worried about Ryan. Jackson suggests that Zach manipulated Erica because she has it out for Ethan. She replies that she isn't that stupid. Jackson is worried that if it is true, than Braden must be responsible for killing Edmund. Erica asks how do they prove it. Reggie walks into the room and says that the answer is easy because Lily knows what happened and they should ask her. They discuss how they should approach Lily as she enters the room. Reggie asks her if she saw the man in the wheelchair get hit in the head. She tells him no. She goes on to say that he wasn't in the wheelchair. Jackson asks if he was knocked out of the wheelchair. She replies that he stood up out of the wheelchair and demonstrates how he walked across the stables. They all exchange looks of shock. Erica shows Lily the magazine cover and points to the picture of Zach. She asks if Lily saw that man hit Edmund. She replies that he wasn't the one who did it. Erica then asks if she saw who did it and Lily starts to get upset, saying that she is not on the case. She tells them that she doesn't want to discuss this case anymore, grabs her bag and leaves to go to school. Reggie follows her out to make sure she is o.k. Erica apologizes to Jackson for pushing Lily so hard. Greenlee wonders if she imagined seeing Edmund walking. Jackson explains that Lily isn't capable of mixing the truth or lying. Erica concludes that either Edmund experienced a miracle right before he was killed or he had been lying to everyone all along. Later, Erica is on the phone with Bianca and they all wish Miranda a happy birthday before she hangs up. They discuss how they are worried about Kendall being involved with Ethan. They wonder what he is capable of if he could lie about his father's guilt. Jackson decides to go talk to Ethan. Erica and Greenlee want to go with him. Jackson talks Erica into staying behind because he doesn't her presence upsetting Kendall further when they confront Ethan. Erica agrees and advises Greenlee to let Jackson do the talking because the situation calls for a scalpel...not a chainsaw. She replies that she always carries both and leaves with her father. After a while, Maria shows up to go over Edmund's will with Jackson. Erica tells her that he has gone to an important meeting, but she can wait there until he gets back. Maria replies that she doesn't want to spend another minute with her. Erica tells her that she didn't mean to upset her at the funeral, but she understands now why she was so angry. She goes on to say that it must have hurt Maria badly when she discovered that Edmund could really walk. Maria gives her a look of surprise.

As Ethan and Kendall return home, they find Jackson and Greenlee waiting for them. Jackson says that they need a word him Ethan. He asks if there is a problem. Greenlee says yes, calls him a liar and punches him in the gut.

Kendall is horrified that Greenlee punched Ethan, and demands to know why. Jack tries to restrain his daughter, but to no avail. Greenlee announces that when Ethan lied and said that Zach killed Edmund, he let the real killer go free. As Greenlee continues to flip out, Kendall is completely baffled. To this point, she believes that all of the theories Jack and Greenlee are now spouting can be traced right back to her mother's mad ramblings. Jack finally steps in, telling his daughter that she isn't making any sense. He runs down the scenario as it has played out so far - with Ethan saying that he saw Zach murder Edmund and how, including how Zach and Edmund struggled over the shovel. He asks for a confirmation - but Ethan hesitates to agree. Ethan smells a set up and denies part of Jack's account. Kendall is incensed that they are attacking Ethan yet again. Ethan says that they are playing "good cop, bad cop" to try to catch him in a lie. He knows that Greenlee doesn't like him and blames him for a lot of the problems Ryan has had. However, the only reason that he can fathom that Jack would be there is if he thought Ethan was lying as well. Jack finally fesses up. Kendall is angry that after all they have collectively been through, that Jack and Greenlee would show up and attack Ethan as they have, and turn against them based on the word of a confessed murderer. Before they can correct her, Kendall storms into the apartment - but Greenlee will not be dismissed. She follows her old friend in to confront her. Greenlee swears that they are trying to protect her - but Kendall isn't sure why. She believes Ethan to be a kind and generous man, and she wants to know why they would want to protect her from having love in her life. Greenlee informs Kendall that they heard what Lily had to say, while Kendall didn't. Kendall is flabbergasted that they would take the word of Lily, who had been so traumatized by the fire that she shut down, over the word of an upstanding young man.

Back outside, Ethan wants to know why, when he handed over a killer to the authorities, Jack seems willing to hand him right back. Jack says that he just wants the truth. Ethan said that the cops wanted the truth as well, and that is what he gave to them. Jack notes that Bianca and Kendall are both involved with him on different levels, and he considers them both to be his daughters. If he finds out that Ethan lied solely for the purpose of revenge, he will make sure Ethan never has any contact with his family again. Further, Jack tells him that he was a good DA for a long time and he knows when someone is lying. He isn't quite sure what Ethan is lying about just yet, but he will find out. Ethan tells him that Zach got to Erica, Erica ran to him - and now they are back where they have been before. He suggests that Jack stop in his pursuit if he wants to keep his position at Cambias. Hackles raised, Jack asks if Ethan is threatening him, and if he's sure he wants to play the game that way. Ethan calls it friendly advice and says that if he and Erica continue on this path, their beloved Kendall will be lost to them forever.

In the apartment, Kendall is trying to kick Greenlee out but Greenlee refuses. Kendall tells her that all of these theories have very little to do with Jack, Greenlee, or Zach - and have everything to do with Erica's Cambias phobias. She is amazed that with all the bad blood between them, Greenlee is so willing to blindly trust Erica. Greenlee admits that while she certainly doesn't trust Erica, she does think that she is right this time. She then asks if Kendall believes that Ethan is incapable of telling a lie to keep Zach locked up. Kendall believes he is capable, but knows that he isn't lying because he swore on his love for her that he was telling the truth. She even told him that she wouldn't judge him if he was lying, because she understood where he was coming from - but he confirmed that he was being truthful. She follows by saying that if Ryan said something, Greenlee would automatically believe it - but because it's Ethan, there is cause for suspicion. Then, Kendall announces that Greenlee proved one thing today: they are horrible as friends, but brilliant as enemies. She thinks they should stick to what they are good at, and demands that Greenlee get out of her house and her life.

Meanwhile, outside - Jack says that he will forget for the moment that Ethan threatened him and instead give him one more chance to tell the truth. Ethan reminds Jack that his father is sitting in jail - and then asks if Jack believes he would do that for fun. Jack doesn't think it would be for fun - but for revenge. He then says that the truth will come out because it always does. Just then, the apartment door opens and Greenlee marches out. She looks at Ethan with disgust reserved only for the Cambias men, and she and her father walk off.

When they are alone again, Ethan and Kendall retreat into the apartment. He worries that the masses are turning on him again, and that they won't let up until they unearth something they can use. Kendall reminds him that they called him a fraud when he really was a Cambias, and they thought he was the shooter when he was innocent. The masses have been wrong before, and it doesn't matter. What does is that she believes that he loves her and she believes in him. Ethan starts to protest, because some of the people are her family members that love her. She announces that she loves him, and puts an end to his doubts.

Ryan arrives at a door with a condemned sign posted on it. He forces the door open and looks upon the trashed interior. He reads the words from Braden's note aloud - "as it was in the beginning" - and then announces that he's home. The place is revealed to be Ryan's childhood home. He finds some old baseball cards on the floor - which immediately makes Ryan flash back to younger days. He and Braden were sitting on the floor with the cards when their mother stumbled by, drunk. Ryan asked his older brother why she had to be that way, and Braden insists Ryan knew why. Prophetically, their father arrived home at that moment. For something minor, their father was enraged. Braden tried to take full responsibility and fix it, but Patrick felt it was too little, too late. He orders his oldest son to get the belt, and as the memory continues to play, Ryan (in the present) tries to will his former self not to see, hear or notice the violence. He continues to kick around the apartment for a bit, and then hears an explosion of sorts from outside. He goes to stand behind the door just as it opens - and an arm is revealed holding a gun. In a flash, Ryan grabs the arm and flips the person attached around and has them pinned against the wall. He then realizes it's Aidan, and asks why he's there. Before he can get an answer, Tad walks through the door. Irritated that they have crashed in on his crusade, he waits for an explanation. They tell him that it's too personal for him, and that the more emotion involved, the greater the chance Ryan will make a mistake. They insist that Ryan is still running the show - they are just there for much needed backup, as they are not emotionally invested. Ryan believes that just means they don't care about what happens to his brother but they just feel they are better able to remain objective. With Edmund dead, they want to help put an end to Braden's reign of terror. Acquiescing, small talk ensues about the state of his boyhood home. Then, they ask why Ryan is there. He informs his backup team that the location is Braden's call - and that there is either a clue here, or his big brother will reveal himself there.

Ryan looks through some old boxes and discovers an old toy (a monkey with cymbals on its hands) that Braden gave him. It used to aggravate their father, but one day, after Ryan suffered a severe beating, Braden bequeathed it to him. Ryan sets it up and, as if to defy his father, finds the switch and turns it on. He enjoys it for a few moments as the cymbals clang together. Suddenly, it stops, smiles, and then a cloud bursts from the monkey and directly into Ryan's face, sending him reeling backwards.

Simone arrives at a hospital room with the curtain drawn around the bed. She tries to be stealthy and peek to see who is inside. Before she has a chance, someone yanks her in. It was Jonathan, and she blasts him for his rough treatment, considering he has a bodyguard. Jonathan says that he was just protecting himself in case it was Braden, since his oldest brother has given everyone in town the slip so far. Simone is doubtful and asks if he was going to try to maim Braden - or tell him exactly where their other brother was. She wants to know why it is that Jonathan chose to protect Braden instead of Ryan. With 4 little words - Braden wants you dead - a lot of things could have been avoided. Jonathan says that it's hard wired into him: the only way for the brothers to survive is to protect each other. Simone retorts that Jonathan is just as guilty of poisoning Greenlee as Braden is - because he gave his oldest brother access. She follows by saying that everyone knows Jonathan hates Greenlee. Jonathan protests simply by saying that Greenlee is his brother's wife. This is Simone's point exactly - Greenlee gets Ryan, and Jonathan gets jealous. She knows what it's like to be jealous of Greenlee, but her ways of payback are minor and benign. Jonathan, still not willing to accept any responsibility, lays all of the blame on Braden...and says that he earned the stab wound when he ratted Braden out. At this moment, Simone realizes that Jonathan is still jealous - and asks if he still wants Greenlee out of Ryan's life. Without waiting for an answer, she continues to berate him for choosing to protect Braden. Asking for a reason why again, Jonathan finally has a small breakthrough. He tells her that Braden took a lot of the beatings for both he and Ryan, and that he can't act like that never happened. He reminds Simone that Ryan did the same thing by taking the rap for Braden's rape charge. Simone notes that while Ryan got over it, she isn't sure that Jonathan will. Finally, Jonathan offers her a look inside his sick mind. He tells her that he had been seeing a therapist and he could offer up some insight as to why he's so angry and jealous, and why he needs to control women. He tells her that she can call him any name that she wants, but he will do everything in his power to make sure Ryan doesn't get hurt again. His tone creeps Simone out, and she hurriedly leaves.

Maria is completely incensed at Erica's suggestion that Edmund could walk. Additionally, she is surprised that Erica is filled with this much spite and yet, Jack is unaware. Erica wonders aloud if Maria's problem is that she can't accept that the man she betrayed lied to her. Maria wonders if Jack knows the real connection between Erica and Zach - that she threw herself at him in Vegas, but that Zach isn't into alcoholic has-beens. Erica, offended, says that her story is completely false - and Maria is amused. She reminds Erica that most of the things that she spews about Maria are lies, but that reality doesn't seem to stop her...and that's pathetic. Erica retorts that what is truly pathetic is that Maria blindly believes what Ethan says. She also thinks Maria's ego and her need to believe that a man would kill to be with her is just as sad. Just then, Brooke walks in - and not a minute too soon. Maria proceeds to recount all of the things that Erica said before Brooke's arrival - that Edmund could walk and lied to her, and that Zach was telling the truth when he said that Edmund took her back out of spite. Brooke, unwilling to reveal the truth that she knows, instead questions why, when a man has died, the only thing that Erica can think to do is torture his widow. Erica doesn't have the time to delve into the specifics as to the whys and hows, but says that Zach is facing a very long jail stay and that Ethan will do whatever it takes to keep him there. In classic Cambias style, Ethan plans to exact revenge on Zach for denying his son. As for Edmund, Erica believes that Maria pushed him over the edge by maintaining her connection with Zach. Erica says that she is only telling Maria the cold hard truth so that she can get over it more quickly. Once she does that (in Erica's estimation), Maria will be able to more easily find a sense of peace. Disgusted, Brooke announces that there is a special place in hell for Erica, and she and Maria take their leave.

Sam arrives at the jail to see the man who killed his father. Zach tries to get him to leave, because he doesn't think he belongs there. Sam isn't having any of it because he has plenty of things to say. Among them is the proclamation that Zach is pathetic because he had to kill a man to get a date, and that it was all for naught - because he would never let Zach near his mother again. Zach wants to make sure that Sam believes that his father is completely free of guilt and that Zach is evil incarnate. He also wants to make sure that Sam channels all of his anger and rage at him and not his mother. Sam tells Zach that he is a coward because he attacked his father in a weak moment. If it weren't for that, he believes that Zach would have been the victim - because Edmund had faced down worse before. They go back and forth for a few more minutes, rehashing their conversation to this point. Sam starts to leave, and Zach calls his attention back briefly. Sam pauses, and Zach tells him that he never wanted any of this to happen - and that he's sorry. Sam replies that he doesn't want anything from Zach. He just wants to be there when they inject him full of death. With a smirk, Sam takes his leave.

Brooke and Maria reconvene at the boathouse. Brooke admits that she wished she had arrived sooner so that she could have spared Maria some of Erica's comments. Maria says that the rumors about Edmund being able to walk again, or taking her back out of spite started with Zach. She fills Brooke in on Zach's confession that he had proof Edmund could walk and that he was responsible for trapping she and Zach in the shed at the casino. This being the first time Brooke has heard about it, she asks for more details. Maria tells her that Zach believed Edmund was trying to catch them doing something wrong by locking them in the shed together. She admits to kissing Zach, but follows by saying that she never slept with Zach - she never betrayed her marriage in that way. Even so, in the end it didn't make any difference because Edmund is still gone. Maria's recount of the story causes Brooke to flashback to the conversation that she had with Edmund shortly before his death - where he admitted that all he wanted to do was keep Maria around until he got Zach thrown in jail. After that, he didn't care where Maria went - as long as it wasn't in his house. Brooke also remembers telling Edmund that he had been revealing a lot of surprises lately - and Edmund told her that she didn't know much of the truth at all. Brooke tries to confirm one more time that Maria didn't cheat on Edmund. Maria feels Brooke shouldn't need to ask. Even though Zach tried everything he could to get her to abandon her marriage, and even though she believed him for a moment - in the end she chose Edmund. He was the man that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. At that admission, Brooke feels her conscience start to bog down on her, and she says that perhaps Zach told the truth.

Jack arrives home and is greeted by his fiancée. He fills her in on how their plan backfired and how Kendall was more invested in believing in Ethan than ever. Disheartened for only a moment, Erica then says that she has her own news to share. She reminds Jack that he was expecting a visitor. He stares at her blankly for a second, and then remembers that he had asked Maria to come by to review Edmund's will. Realizing the potential for a volatile situation, he voices his hope that Erica didn't say anything that she shouldn't have.

Greenlee arrives home and finds Jonathan on the couch waiting for her.

Greenlee is startled to see Jonathan sitting on the sofa in her old, penthouse condo. She and Jonathan had an icy exchange. Jonathan told Greenlee that his dislike of her was because, to a certain extent, she reminded him of his mother. Jonathan denied wanting to see Ryan or Greenlee hurt, but was at a loss to explain why he would allow Braden to harm them. Greenlee no longer seemed enraged by her brother-in-law and offered to drive him back to the hospital. Jonathan refused to go back, hinting that he wasn't safe there. Greenlee nodded somewhat understandingly and said that Jonathan could stay at her place until she returned from work.

Jack scolded Erica for having told Maria that Edmund could walk. Erica insisted that she was only trying to do the right thing by telling Maria the truth about Edmund. A panicked Lily burst into the apartment and said that she had been chased by "him." A few seconds later, the bodyguard that had been hired to keep a watchful eye over Lily entered. Jack assured Lily that the man following her home from school wasn't a bad man and then took his daughter into her room to play a new chess game. As they walked away, Erica phoned Kendall to ask her if they could go somewhere private and talk. Kendall snapped that she wasn't interested in hearing any more of Erica's lies and Ethan helped Kendall promptly hang up the phone. Determined to talk some sense into her daughter, Erica left to go to Kendall's condo and track down Kendall. Shortly thereafter, Lily asked her dad to take her to Greenlee's condo so that she could look over some of Greenlee's Enchantment projections for use in a school "stock market" game. Jack was held up by a phone call and Lily said that she would head up by herself.

In his childhood home, Ryan collapsed to the ground after being sprayed in the face by some sort of gas that had escaped the windup monkey toy. As he lay on the floor, Braden appeared before him and told Ryan that he wanted to help him. Braden extended his hand to Ryan to help him to his feet. As Ryan reached out, Braden placed a gun in Ryan's face and said, "I lied." The appearance by Braden turned out to be a hallucination caused by the non-toxic gas that had sprayed Ryan. As the his eyes focused in on a face hovering over him, Ryan realized that only Tad and Aidan were in the room with him. Ryan assured the two men that he would be okay. Then, he looked ominously at a lamp that had been knocked over on the floor. Using the handle end of a broom, Ryan shorted out the light bulb. He explained that when he and Braden were growing up, they used to fantasize about ways to kill their father. Ryan had the idea to use the cord from a lamp to do him in. After some searching around the place, Ryan found his next clue in a hollowed-out book. The clue told him to "walk the boards" and alluded to making bets. Ryan's face grew serious as he announced that he knew where he had to go next.

Erica showed up at Kendall's condo, but Kendall had already left for Fusion. Inside, Erica found Ethan sitting on the sofa. The two stared each other down as Ethan prepared to tell Erica that he is tired of her interference. Meanwhile, at Fusion, Kendall was ready to let Greenlee know exactly what was on her mind.

At the boathouse, Maria was outraged that Brooke would turn on her and spout lies about Edmund. The two women went toe-to-toe in a very heated and emotional exchanged, in which Brooke told Maria of a conversation she had had with Edmund shortly before he died. She informed Maria that Edmund had not planned to pull his divorce petition and that he wanted to send Zach to jail – and to make her suffer. Maria denied that what Brooke was saying was true and lashed out at Brooke, calling Brooke a bitter woman who had never gotten over the fact that Edmund had turned his back on her twice. Brooke admitted that she loved Edmund – and that she always would. She then angrily told Maria that while she may not have cheated on Edmund with Zach, Maria was very much to blame for setting Edmund into his rage mode. Then, before leaving, Brooke hinted that she isn't so sure that Zach really did kill Edmund. Later, a devastated Maria sat by herself sobbing. She told herself over and over that Edmund must have loved her and denied that Edmund had lied to her about having been able to talk.

Back at Greenlee's condo, Jonathan decided that he had to set out to find a way to help Ryan. As he was staggering out the front door, he froze in his footsteps. Before him he saw Braden. Then a hand grabbed at his throat and slowly tried to squeeze the life out of him. Jonathan stumbled backwards into the condo. As he did, Lily walked down the hall and stood in horror outside in the hallway.